TCU
UMKC
Frogs silence Kangaroos 3-0
8/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 30, 2008
FORT WORTH, Texas - The TCU Horned Frogs remained perfect on the young season with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-20) victory over the UMKC Kangaroos Saturday afternoon at the University Rec Center. The potent Frog attack was led by a 17 kill performance from Irene Hester, while Kourtney Edwards pitched in with a match six blocks.The first set was a back-and-forth affair as the teams battled to a 6-all tie. Back-to-back kills from Hester got the Frogs rolling as Katelyn Blackwood served TCU to a 10-7 lead.
The Frog advantage hovered around three before a Jess Menden kill spurred a 6-0 run. Three straight blasts from Hester on the outside gave TCU a 19-14 lead. She teamed with Kourtney Edwards on a denial at the net to extended the lead to 21-14. Back-to-back kills from Christy Hudson sealed the game one victory.
Game two played out much the same as game one as the Kangaroos hung close early only to see the Frogs take off late in the set. Behind the serving of Devon Kirk the Frogs built a 7-4 lead that was helped along by blocks from Hudson and Edwards. Hudson and Joeckel helped pushed the lead out to 12-6 on kills from Jess Mended and Edwards.
Hester and Edwards teamed up for a stuff to give TCU its largest lead of the match at 21-11 and from there the Frogs cruised. Hester finished the game with her first ace of the match to give TCU the commanding 2-0 lead with a 25-17 victory.
TCU stormed out to a 5-0 lead thanks to back-to-back aces from Hester then had to withstand a furious rally by the Kangaroos that gave UMKC a 6-5 lead. Hudson connected for a loud kill on the outside to tie the game and then gave the Frogs a lead they would never relinquish.
Kills from Menden and Hannah Fort pushed the lead to five. An ace from Blackwood made it a 16-10 contest. Fort pitched in four kills in the third set and Hester finished the match with a blast on the outside for the 25-19 victory.
Serving as the primary setter, freshman Jess Menden finished the match with 25 assists to go along with five kills and six digs. Hudson finished with nine kills on 15 swings and four digs. Blackwood tallied a match-high 13 digs. Overall as a team, the Frogs posted a .409 (46-10-88) hitting percentage, the 10th highest percentage in school history.
TCU (2-0) will meet Belmont (2-0) in the tournament finale as it searches for its first title of the season. The match is slated for a 7 p.m. start Saturday night.
